Loading and firing mechanism for quick-firing guns



April 6, 1948- D. w. MOLlNS ET AL LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS April 6, 1943.

D. W. MOLINS ET! AL LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Shet 2 imam v April-6, 1948. b. w. MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR -QUICK-FIIUING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 25 a v A April 6, 1948. o. w. MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed may 25, 1945 19 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 1948- D. w. MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 6, 1948. Mom HAL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS If'iled May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 1943 I D.' W. MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 7 April 6, 1948. D. w. MOLINS 5; AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed m 25, 1943 19 sheets-sheet 8 APril 1948- v I v D. w. MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 9 curd/um;

April 1943- D.. w. MOLINSY ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed ma 25, 1943 l9 SheetsSheet 1O p l -v D. w. MOLINS Er AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 11 P66 p 3; 35% F 25/ .9 g P80 Z82 D. W. MOLINS ET AL April 6, 1948.

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet l2 mun" AP!vial 1948. D. w, MOLINS ET AL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25 1945 19 Sheets-Sheet 1s D. W. M OLINS El" AL.

April '6, 1948.

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS F iled May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet l4 1 v D. w. MOLINS EIAL 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS l9 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed May" 25, 1943 April'6, 1948- o. w. MOLINS El AL LOADING m FIRING macaxmsm FOR qurcx-mnmc suns Filed May 25, 1943 19 Sheets-Sheet 16 Inventors Panza: 54mm" 3150/5: flxrvwz 4/4300 p il ,1948. D. w. MOLINS E'I'AL 1 2,439,142

LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Filed May 25, 1945 19 Sheets-Sheet 17 I I I I l l I I l i L I I I l l I I I ""Il'l'f' L J BY I [52 i jazz/ a :TAl'torney April 6, 1948.

D. w. MOLINS El AL LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS 19 Sheets-Sheet 18 Filed May .25, 1943 hhh INVENTORS 71mm M 2: 7% M a 7 ,ZZ z M fuzia, mom,

April 6, n. w. MOLINS El AL 2,439,142 7 LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Fil ed May 25, 1945 19 Sheets-Sheet 19 BY I 2 t Al'l'orlzeg Patented Apr. 6, 1943 I UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE LOADING AND FIRING MECHANISM FOR QUICK-FIRING GUNS Desmond Walter Molins, Valentine Pearce Harvey, James Arthur Mason, and Gordon Francis Wellington Powell, Deptford, London, England, asslgnors to Molins Machine Company Limited, Deptford, London, England Application May 25, 1943, Serial No. 488,453 In Great Britain April'13r1942 I on insertion of a round into the breech. Such a gun is referred to hereinafter as a gun of the kind described."

In quick firing guns of the kind described for use against aircraft, it has been the practice to place a round in the loading tray,'then to swing the'latter by hand so as to bring the round into alignment with the breech, ram the round into the breech (whichlatter can be set to close automatically on insertion of the round when the tray is returned), and then manually to return the tray, close the breech and fire the gun after the breech is closed. Where the rounds are fuzed, it has previously been'the practice to set the fuze before placing the round into the loading tray.

A difliculty experienced with quick-firing guns of the kind described has been in the length of time and the variation of time between the setting of the fuze and the firing of the round. Where the fuze-setting, tray swinging, ramming and firing or some of them are effected manu ally, there is invariably a time lag due to the human element, which time lag will, incidentally, vary according to the emciency of a given crew, and will thus vary from crew to crewand may even vary with difierent members of a given crew. Thus the total time between the completion of the setting of the fuze and the firing of the round may vary and is, in fact, known to vary in practice between approximately 4 to 8 seconds on a 3.7" anti-aircraft-gun of the kind described. Thus it will be seen that it is difiicult in the extreme to make any accurate correction for this time variation, and even where a fixed time, say

6 seconds, can be relied upon, the length of time;

namely six seconds, is so great as to make effective allowance most difiicult. Consequently it has been the practice to set the fuzeby an amount which it'is estimated will turn up in 'several seconds time, to load the round'so set in- 35 Claims. (01. 89-1) to the gun and then wait before firing until that fuze has come up on the fuze receiver or predictor dial as the case may be; in other words there is a wait until the fuze is ripe." At this instant a signal isgiven and the gun is fired. Even with this method the human element comes into it, in that there is some delay between the signal to fire being given and the reaction of the man who is to operate the firing lever. In addition to the foregoing there is sometimes a further difliculty in that due to the long wait between the setting of the fuze and the proposed firing time, the estimated or anticipated fuze does not become ripe," in which case the round has to be fired or the round unloaded with consequent further delays. The whole system is generally unsatisfactory for use against such fast moving targets as modern aircraft. In any case, this method of firing is slow and it is an object of the invention both to reduce these difilculties and to increase the accuracy and the rate of firing in guns of the kind described by efiecting substantial reduction of the dead time and by making this reduced time constant or as nearly constant as practicable.

It has already been proposed in co-pendingv .Serial No. 466,808 does out out a source or delay and irregularity.

According to the present invention there is provided a gun of the kind described wherein the breech is adapted and arranged to close automatically on the insertion of a round into the breech, comprising fuze-setting means adapted to set the fuze of a round in the loading tray, automatic actuating means to actuate the fuzesetting means and the loading tray in timed relationship so that the fuze of the round is already set when the tray is in the loading position, a rammer-device operably controlled in 

